Carriage-return mechanism for typewriters



W by W Zma g W. L. MEUSCHKE. CARRIAGE RETURN MECHANISM FOR TYPEWRITERS.

APPLICATION FILED AUGZQ. 1919.

1,396,865. Patented Nov. 15, 1921.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I- Inventor Witnesses Attorneys.

W. L. MEUSCHKE.

CARRIAGE RETURN MECHANISM FOR TYPEWRITERS.

. APPLICATION FIITED AUG.29. 191-9. 1,396,865. Patented Nov. 15, 1921.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

HIHHI I let Inventor,

Witnesses Attorneys.

W. L. MEUSCHKE.

CARRIAGE RETURN MECHANISM FOR TYPEWRITERS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.29. I919.

1,396,865. Patented Nov. 15, 1921.

3 SHEETSSHEET 3.

Witnesses Inventor Attorneys,

I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM L. MEUSCHKE, OI LINCOLN, MISSOURI.

CARRIAGE-RETURN MECHANISM FOR TYPEWRITERS.

Specification of Letters latent.

Patented Nov. 15, 1921.

Application filed August 29, 1919. Serial No. 320,608.

' writers, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention appertains generally to typewriters and aims toprovide returning mechanism operable for automatically returning thetypewriter carriage to starting position, to eliminate the laboriousoperation necessary with ordlnary typewriters to return the carriageagainst the tension of the advancing spring thereof after each line hasbeen typewritten.

It is the object of the invention to provide a return mechanism of thenature indicated, which will by simply touching a key, result in thequick return of the carriage, thus saving time and labor.

Another object of the invention is to provide a mechanism of the natureindicated which is comparatively simple and expensive in constructlon,which can be readily emthe provision of novel means for automati-,

cally turning the platen the desired number of steps or spaces duringthe return of the carriage.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as thedescri tion proceeds, the invention resides in the combination andarrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafterdescribed and claimed, it being understood that changes in the preciseembodiment of the invention herein disclosed, can be made within thescope of what is claimed, without departing from the spirit of theinvention.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, whereinFigure 1 is a front view of a typewriter embodying thepresentimprovements, portions being removed to simplify the illustration.

Fig. 2 is a rear view, with portions removed.

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section from front to rear. portions beinglbroken away.

In the drawings, t e numeral 1 designatesthe frame of the typewriter, onwhich .of the typewriter have not the carriage 2 is movable, and the keylevers are designated 3. .Most of the working parts been shown, sincethey are old and well known.

In carrying out the invention, a rack 4 is pivotallyconnected, as at 5,with the car riage 2, and 1s movable into and out of Y engagement with areturn gear 6 located at the right hand side of the frame or at anyother suitable point. A gear 7 is mounted for rotation upon the stubshaft 8 upon whlch the gear 6 is also rotatable, said gears be ngrelatively rotatable, and having a splral or other suitable ower storingspring 9 therebetween, one end of the spring being connected, as at 10,to the gear or returning wheel 6, the other end being connected,as at11, with the gear 7. The gear 7 is rotated durlng the operation of thekey levers, to wmdup the spring 9 and store sufiicient energy thereinfor returning the carriage when the line has been completed. Theoperatlve connection between the gear 7 and key levers 3 includes ashaft 12 journaled for rotation in suitable bearings 13 carried by theframe and having a pinion 14 meshmg with the gear 7 and a bevel pinion15 meshing with a bevel gear 16 rotatable with a spur gear 17, saidgears 16 and 17 being mounted upon a suitable stub shaft 18 earriedbythe frame. A spur gear 19 meshes with the spur gear 17, said gearsbeing pref erably at the right hand side of the frame, and the gear 19being mounted on a stub shaft 20. An oscillatory member 21 is mountedupon the shaft 20 and carries one or more pawls or dogs 22 for engaginga ratchet wheel 23 mounted upon the shaft 20. Said ratchet wheel 23 andgear 19- are secured to the shaft 20 to rotate inyunison, while themember 21 is loose upon the shaft and has a segment 24 meshing with asegment 25 pivoted to the frame, as at 26. The 1 During the 'feeding oradvance movement of the carriage, the rack 4 is lifted off of the gear6, to enable the rack to be advanced with the carriage past said gearwithout inter- I ference, and for this purpose, a lifting lever 29 ispivoted, as at 30, to the frame and exlower portion of the frame, and inturn connected by a forwardly extending link 33 with a bell crank keylever 34 having the key or finger piece 35 which can'be touched ordepressed by the operator when the line has been'completed. When the key35 is depressed, this will transmit motion to the lever,.29 whereby itpermits the rack 4 to drop into engagement withthe gear 6, the key 35being normally raised by a suitable {spring 35 toraise the flange 30 andthe rack 4 duringthe advance movement of the carriage.

When the rack 4 is raised out of engage ment with the gear 6, said gearis locked against rotation by means of a dog 36 pivoted, as at 37, tothe frame, and swung by a spring 38 into engagement with the gear whenreleased. A dog 36 isautomatically disengaged from the gear 6 when therack 4 drops into engagement with said gear, this being accomplished bythe provision of an outstanding pin or lug 39 on the lever 29. Thus,when the lever 29 is operated by the depression of the key 35, to permitthe rack 4 to gravitate into engagement with the gear 6, the pin or lug39 swings the dog 36 away from the gear 6.

The operation of the returning mechanism is 'as follows :During theoperation of the key levers 3, with the dog 36 in engagement with thegear 6, the hanger 28 will be recip rocated, whereby to oscillate thesegment 25 which in turn oscillates thesegment 24. The

pawl and ratchet connection between the.

se ment 24 and gear 19 will impart intermittent rotary movement-to saidgear, which motion is transmitted by the intervening gears to the gear7, thus winding up the spring 9, the reverse rotation of said gearsbeing prevented by the pawl or dog 19' engaging the gear 19 or any othergear of the train. The spring 9 is thus wound up during the advancemovement of the car riage, and sufiicient power is stored in said sprlngfor returning the carriage against the tension of the carriage feedingor ad vancin spring (not shown) of ordinary operation, as will bereadily understood. During the winding up of the spring 9, the gear 6cannot rotate since it is held by the dog or catch 36. When the line hasbeen completed, the operator depresses the key 35, which lets the rack 4move into engagement with the gear 6, and the dog 36 is disengaged fromthe gear6, thus releasing said gear, which will immediately be rotatedby the spring 9 to move the rack 4 inthe direction to return thecarriage to initial or starting position. Then when the carriage isreturned, which consumes but a slight interval of time, the key 35 inbeing released results in the rack 4 being lifted from the gear 6, andthe dog 36 being again swung into engagement with said gear, for thenext operation.

In order to turn the platen during the return movement of the carriage,and to accomplish said result automatically, there is provided a rack 41mounted slidably in suitable bearings 40 carried by the carriage,preferably at the front of the carriage. A pinion 42 meshes with therack 41 and is carried by a shaft 43 journaled in a suitable bearing 44.This shaft 43 is connected by arm and links or other suitable connection45 with the platen advancing or rotating device 47 of ordinaryconstruction and operation, and said device 47 in being returned byspring tension, will return the shaft 43, pinion 42 and rack 41 tonormal position in the direction of advance movement of the carriage. Astop 48, such as commonly used, is pivoted or otherwise carried by theframe 1 to be engaged by an adjustable stop 49 carried by the carriage,to limit the return movement of the carriage so as to properly start theline. A stop 50 is mounted adjustably on the rack 41, in any suitablemanner, to engage the stop 48 before it is engaged by the stop 49 as thecarria e is returned to starting position. It is pre erable to provide ascale 51 adjacent to he rack 41 and containing a plurality oflongitudinally offset letter spacing graduations 52 with which a pointer53 on the adjustable sto 50 cooperates. There is one series of grauations 52 for each spacing of the line, to facilitate the'adjustment ofthe. stop 50 with respect to the stop 49. Thus,

when the stop 49 is adjusted to one position,

and it is desired to single space the line, the stop 50 is set one spaceahead of thestop 49, which can be readily done by the assistance of thescale 51. If double spacing of the lines is desired, the stop 50 is settwo graduations ahead of the stop 49 and if triple spacing is desired,the stop 50 is set three graduations ahead of the stop 49. Conse-vquently, when the stop 50 is set for single spacing, this will providefor the sin le spacing movement of the rack 41 relative tothe carriage 2when the carriage is returned- The stop 50 engages the sto 48 just onestep or graduation ahead 0 the stop49, and the carriage 2 then has aslight movement before the stop 49 engages the stop 48, thus moving therack 41 a single step relatively to the carriage, and rotating thepinion 42 and shaft 43 one step. This will move the device 47 one stepto advance the platen one step. However, if the stop 50 is set two stepsor graduations ahead of the stop 49, it will contact with the stop 49130 quicker, thus providing for a relatively larger movement of the rack41 with respect tothe carriage 2 before the stop 49 hits the stop 48.The pinion 42, shaft 43 and device 47 are therefore moved two steps, toadvance the platen two steps, as in double spacing;

It will therefore be noted that thefarther the stop 50 is set ahead ofthe stop 49, the greater Will be the advance movement of the platen.When the carriage is advanced, the stop 49 is the first to move awayfrom the stop 48', after which the stop 50 can move away from the sto 49and permit the rack 41 to shift to the right, as seen in Fig. 1, whenthe platen advancing device 47 is returned to normal position.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is 1. Thecombination with a typewriter having a carriage and operating means, ofpower storing means including a spring and a gear rotated thereby, anoperative connection between said spring and operating means for windingup the spring, a rack connected to the carriage and engageable with saidgear, means for normally disconnecting said rack and gear and tonormally look said gear, the last mentioned means being operable in partto permit engagement of the rack and gear and release the latter.

2. The combination with a typewriter having a carriage and operatingmeans, of power storing means including a spring and a gear rotatedthereby, an operative connection between said spring and opera-tingmeans to wind up the spring, a rack carried by the carriage and movableinto and out of engagement with said gear, means for nor mally movingthe rack out of engagement with said gear and operable in part to permitengagement of the rack with the gear, andmeans controlled by the lastmentioned means for preventing the rotation of said gear when the rackis disconnected there from.

In testimony that l claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto afiinedmy signa ture in the presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM: L. MlEUSGHKhL Witnesses;

J. W'. LEE, 0. Gr. Haaina

